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31st May, 2010
SWAG Warns Journalists Scheduled To Cover World Cup Matches To Be Financially Sound
President of the Sport Writers Association of Ghana Mr. Ackah Anthony issued a stern warning to journalists harbouring hope of covering the impending World Cup in South Africa to be financially sound before embarking on the journey.
“It will be a tragic mistake for any Ghanaian journalist to assume that because the World Cup is being held in Africa all that they need is a ticket to South Africa and that once they land there God will take care of the rest of their problems, no such selective favours will be found at the World Cup”.
“Earlier this year I had a first hand experience of how harsh the economic of World Cup hosting cities can be to foreigners not Ghanaians alone, cost of living in South Africa is generally very expensive and at a time that a tournament of such magnitude as the World Cup is coming there, one could just imagine what will happen to prices of airfares, food and drinks which according to information are sky rocking day by day not to talk of hotel accommodation and transportation which plays a bigger role during such tournaments.
Sounding a note of warning to journalist who wish to embark on the journey to witness and cover the soccer showpiece, Mr. Anthony said one should be financially sound or be backed by good sponsorship before embarking on the trip.
There have been cases in the recent pass where some Ghanaian sport journalists desirous of attending the World Cup’s, nation cup’s and other organized tournament around the globe only got themselves tickets after which they flew to the tournament venue without financial cushioning for their stay. Some persons almost invariably found themselves stranded and were only saved by the magnanimity of other compatriots
He disclosed that as the president of SWAG he was privy to the happenings that went on at the just ended African Cup of Nations in Angola, were some journalists had to squeeze their megal allowances just to contribute to support their colleagues who had the going very tough during the tournament.
Such a thing should belong to the past and not happen again, he told a gathering of sports journalists at the Ghana media standards improvement project special media development forum on the World Cup 2010 held at the Coconut Groove Regency Hotel on Wednesday.
According to him most journalists come across as being financially sound and ready for the trips but when they get to the tournament venue and push comes to shove, most of them are found wanting and they turn to harass players as well as their colleagues for help, a practice he described as bad and sicken and urged all to eschew it.
“Anyone going to South Africa in an official capacity can avoid the unpleasant experiences mentioned above if they do the right things of being accredited and traveling with enough funds to facilitate their works during the tournament”
The Rainbow nation has spent a total of $5 billion (£3.5 billion) to get the global Mundial onto the African soil and will do their best to recoup the huge investment in the tournament, he added.
“It will be a tragic mistake for any Ghanaian journalist to assume that because the World Cup is being held in Africa all that they need is a ticket to South Africa and that once they land there God will take care of the rest of their problems, no such selective favours will be found at the World Cup”.
“Earlier this year I had a first hand experience of how harsh the economic of World Cup hosting cities can be to foreigners not Ghanaians alone, cost of living in South Africa is generally very expensive and at a time that a tournament of such magnitude as the World Cup is coming there, one could just imagine what will happen to prices of airfares, food and drinks which according to information are sky rocking day by day not to talk of hotel accommodation and transportation which plays a bigger role during such tournaments.
Sounding a note of warning to journalist who wish to embark on the journey to witness and cover the soccer showpiece, Mr. Anthony said one should be financially sound or be backed by good sponsorship before embarking on the trip.
There have been cases in the recent pass where some Ghanaian sport journalists desirous of attending the World Cup’s, nation cup’s and other organized tournament around the globe only got themselves tickets after which they flew to the tournament venue without financial cushioning for their stay. Some persons almost invariably found themselves stranded and were only saved by the magnanimity of other compatriots
He disclosed that as the president of SWAG he was privy to the happenings that went on at the just ended African Cup of Nations in Angola, were some journalists had to squeeze their megal allowances just to contribute to support their colleagues who had the going very tough during the tournament.
Such a thing should belong to the past and not happen again, he told a gathering of sports journalists at the Ghana media standards improvement project special media development forum on the World Cup 2010 held at the Coconut Groove Regency Hotel on Wednesday.
According to him most journalists come across as being financially sound and ready for the trips but when they get to the tournament venue and push comes to shove, most of them are found wanting and they turn to harass players as well as their colleagues for help, a practice he described as bad and sicken and urged all to eschew it.
“Anyone going to South Africa in an official capacity can avoid the unpleasant experiences mentioned above if they do the right things of being accredited and traveling with enough funds to facilitate their works during the tournament”
The Rainbow nation has spent a total of $5 billion (£3.5 billion) to get the global Mundial onto the African soil and will do their best to recoup the huge investment in the tournament, he added.
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